Military News

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

‘A blood transfusion saved my life’

SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) -- Many children
dream of taking a trip to Disneyland, and in 2001, 1st Lt. Fanita Schmidt's
family set off to make it a reality. But the family's dream suddenly turned
into a nightmare when Arizona winds blew their minivan off the road, causing
the vehicle to roll down a hill.

Schmidt was immediately knocked unconscious. She suffered
six broken bones above the hip and lost a large amount of blood.

"Because I passed out, I wasn't able to control my
body, which is why I had so many more injuries than the others," she said.

Due to the extent of her injuries, Schmidt was airlifted to
a hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she could be properly cared for. Her
outlook was grim at the time, she said, but doctors knew what they needed to
save her life: blood.

"I was told I had less than a few hours to get a blood
transfusion so that I could live," Schmidt said. "If that wasn't
available to me, I would've died."

Schmidt received a blood transfusion that helped save her
life, and now, 14 years later, she said she pays it forward by donating blood
every chance she gets.

"I try to go to all the blood drives I can," she
said. "I've even stopped myself from getting tattoos so I am actually able
to donate."

According to the Red Cross, "although an estimated 38
percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate, less than 10 percent
actually do each year."

Schmidt encourages everyone who is physically able to donate
blood.

"I do understand that it is a scary process for a lot
of people to actually sit in that chair, have a needle put in and feel like a
part of you is draining out, but you have to understand that it just takes a
small part of you to make a whole of someone else," she said.

The Red Cross says one pint of blood is taken during a blood
donation, which can save up to three lives.

"I was a child when a blood transfusion saved my life,
and look where I am now," Schmidt said.

Schmidt insists that all it takes is time and courage to
become someone's hero -- something she learned by watching her father.

"My father graduated from the first class of the Air
Force Academy in 1959," she said. "He was a fighter pilot and he
actually saved a lot of peoples' lives -- maybe not by donating blood -- but he
earned four Distinguished Flying Crosses, so he's a true hero."

Her father's legacy inspired her to follow in his footsteps
and serve in the Air Force, she said.

"If you have the physical, mental and psychological
capability to serve and help others, then why not do it?" she asked.
"And that correlates to donating blood -- I really do believe that even if
you don't get the chance to go into a cockpit, you can still save someone's
life."

Donating blood is a safe process and typically takes about
10 minutes, according to the Red Cross.

"We couldn't save lives without our donors," said
Army Lt. Col. Jason Corley, the Armed Services Blood Program deputy director of
operations. "As a program, we have saved thousands of lives this year and
that happened because of our donors’ support. They are the silent heroes.'"